Philippines Morning News For March 7

Measles Makes a Comeback as Philippine Vaccination Rates Plummet
Concerns by Philippine health and science professionals that the disastrous Dengvaxia mass dengue inoculation programme would affect other public health programmes is rapidly coming to fruition, with a measles (locally: tigdas) outbreak the first signs of the blowback.— AEC News Today

Too many holidays cuts competitiveness
Foreign and local business groups are increasingly concerned of the high number of holidays in the country, saying this is damaging the competitiveness of the country.— Malaya

Japan, China to finance major rail projects
The Department of Transportation (DOTr) is set to sign two separate loan agreements, one with Japan and another with China, that would finance two major railways projects, the P365-billion Metro Manila subway and the P170-billion revival of the Philippine National Railways’ (PNR) Bicol Express.— Malaya

Feb inflation highest in more than 3 yrs
INFLATION accelerated to an over three-year high in February, the government reported on Tuesday, with higher food, beverage and tobacco prices said to have been the primary drivers.— The Manila Times

DFA to increase passport processing by 11,000 daily
The Foreign Affairs department plans to increase by 11,000 the daily processing of passport applications this year to serve the increasing number of applicants triggered by the 10-year validity of the travel documents, DFA Secretary Alan Peter Cayetano told lawmakers Tuesday.— Manila Standard

Canned goods makers to hike prices
Manufacturers of canned goods are expected to jack up prices of their products in the coming months in line with the rising prices of tinplates and foreign exchange movement.— Philippine Star

Find our previous morning news feature photos in the AEC News Today Morning News Feature Photos gallery where you will find a pictorial display of daily life throughout the Asean Economic Community (AEC).

Philippines morning news by AEC News Today is your one stop source for Philippines news on matters of governance and policies affecting Asean business communities. It is published M-F by AEC News Today: Governance, not government; policies not politics.

Stella-maris Ewudolu

Stella-maris graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, Education from Ebonyi State University, Nigeria in 2005.

Between November 2010 and February 2012 she was a staff writer at Daylight Online, Nigeria writing on health, fashion, and relationships. From 2010 – 2017 she worked as a freelance screen writer for ‘Nollywood’, Nigeria.